Refrigerator cabinet including improved closure means



July 5, 1966 H. P. HARLE ETAL REFRIGERATOR CABINET INCLUDING IMPROVED CLOSURE MEANS Filed Aug. 5, 1964 INVENTORS HAROLD P. HARLE gs/ wen. I WOOLLEY THEIR ATTORNEY United States Patent Office Patented July 5, 1966 3,259,446 REFRIGERATOR CABINET INCLUDING IMPROVED CLOSURE MEANS Harold P. Harle and Samuel J. Woolley, Louisville, Ky.,

assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 386,832 2 Claims. (Cl. 312-296) The present invention relates to refrigerator cabinets and is more particularly concerned with a cabinet including a refrigerated storage compartment and double doors for closing the access opening to the compartment.

In the manufacture of refrigerator cabinets comprising a pair of side-by-side doors for closing the mullionless access opening to a storage compartment within a cabinet, it is necessary to provide means for sealing not only the space between the edges of the doors and the face of the cabinet surrounding the access opening but also the space between the mating edges of the two doors. Various gasket arrangements have been used or proposed for sealing this space. Due to the fact that the portions thereof in the area of the mating door edges have been exposed directly to the relatively cold air within the refrigerator storage compartment causing a drop in the temperature thereof below the dew point of the ambient .air, moisture has tended to condense thereon.

The present invention has as its principal object the provision of a double door refrigerator including mating door edges exposed to the refrigerated storage compartment temperatures, the doors being so constructed that sweating of the sealing means at the mating door edges is substantially prevented.

A further object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator cabinet including side-by-side doors for closing a mullionless access opening to the refrigerator cabinet, the doors including inner panels of sheet plastic or the like formed to provide a minimum air gap between cooperating gaskets mounted on the mating edges of the doors and the cabinet interior to substantially prevent sweating of the gaskets.

In accordance with a specific embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a refrigerator cabinet including .a face portion defining an access opening to a refrigerated storage compartment within the cabinet and a pair of side-by-side doors for closing the access opening. The doors are arranged across the access opening with their opposed or inner mating edges in spaced relation to permit opening or closing of either door without disturbing the other. The remaining edges of the doors are in overlapping or spaced relationship with the face portion of the cabinet and the doors are supported on the cabinet face along their outer vertical edges. Each of the doors includes an outer panel having an inwardly extending flange about the periphery thereof and an inner panel formed of suitable sheet plastic material and having its edges overlying the outer panel flange. The inner panels are formed to provide vertically extending projections adjacent the peripheral edges thereof defining a cavity in which there is suitably supported a plurality of door shelves. A sealing gasket is provided on each of the doors and is mounted on the flanges for sealing engagement either with the cabinet face or along the mating door edges with the gasket on the other door. In order to shield the sections of the gaskets at the mating door edges from the relatively cold temperatures within the cabinet interior or compartment the projections on the two doors adjacent the mating edges thereof are so shaped that when the doors are closed opposed portions of these projections provide a relatively narrow air gap between the gasket sections and the interior of the refrigerated compartment. A further aspect of the invention is to the provision of a novel retainer for securing the gasket section and the inner panel edge portions to the outer panel flange whereby the retainer and gasket section can be secured to the panel prior to assembly of the inner panel on the outer panel.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the following drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of a cabinet taken generally along lines 22 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a detailed view of one of the refrigerator doors illustrating the method of assembly thereof.

Referring to FIGURE 1 of the drawing there is shown a refrigerator cabinet generally indicated by the numeral 1 having a storage compartment 2 within the cabinet. The access opening to the storage compartment 2 is defined by a cabinet face portion 3. This access opening is closed by a pair of side-by-side doors 4 and 5 which are pivotally supported on the cabinet adjacent their outer vertical edges by means of suitable hinges 6. The upper and lower edges 7 and 8 as well as the pivotally mounted edges 9 of each door overlap the face portion 3 of the cabinet. Resilient sealing gaskets generally indicated by the numeral 10 are mounted on the doors and extend about the entire periphery thereof for engagement either with the face portion of the cabinet or with one another at the mating door edges. The doors are normally held or latched in their closed positions by any suitable latching means (not shown).

In accordance with the usual refrigerator cabinet practice, each of the doors includes an inner panel or surface 11 and an outer panel or surface 12 spaced from one another, the space between these panels being filled with suitable heat insulating material 14.

More specifically, the outer panel 12 comprises a face portion 15 and an inwardly reinforcing flange 16 extending entirely around the periphery thereof while the inner panel 11, formed of sheet plastic material or the like, includes vertical projections 17 and 18 extending rearwardly into the storage compartment 2 and forming a cavity 19 for supporting a plurality of door shelves (not shown).

The sealing gasket 10 carried on the flanges 16 of the doors includes sections 21 extending along the upper and lower edges 7 and 8 and the hinge edge 9 of the doors, which sections are adapted to come into sealing engagement with the face portion 3 of the cabinet when the door is closed. The other sections 22 of each gasket respectively mounted along the mating edges 23 and 24 of the doors are of a special shape and include flexible portions 26 extending into the space between the doors for bridging and sealing this space. More specifically, the portions 26 are adapted to contact one another in overlapping sealing relationship when the two doors 4 and 5 are closed.

In the operation of the refrigerator, the interior of the compartment 2 is refrigerated by suitable cooling means so that it is maintained at a relatively low temperature. Because of the temperature differential between the relatively cold air within the compartment 2 and the ambient air, it is desirable to provide means whereby the gaskets will be shielded to some extent from the temperature within the compartment 3 as otherwise at least portions thereof will drop below the dew point temperature of the ambient air thereby causing moisture or frost to collect along the exterior or exposed surfaces of the cold gaskets. To this end, the projections 17 adjacent the top, bottom and hinge edges of each of the doors are designed to form relatively narrow air gaps such as indicated at 28 with the adjacent inner walls such as wall 29 of the compartment 2, so that the circulation of the refrigerated air within the compartment 2 into contact with the gasket 10 is minimized and portions 21 of the gasket 10 will operate at temperatures above the dew point temperature.

However, in a mullionless double door refrigerator, no comparable means is available for preventing sweating of the gasket portions 22 sealing the space between the free or mating edges 23 and 24 of the two doors. Also all portions of the doors in this area must be designed and spaced so that either door can be opened individually. Due to spacing provided in prior refrigerators of this type, the gasket portions comparable to the gasket portions 22 have tended to operate below the dew temperature and accordingly been provided with heater wires or the like to maintain them at an elevated temperature sufficiently close to ambient to prevent sweating or frosting.

In accordance with the present invention the doors 4 and 5 are so constructed and designed as to produce a minimum air gap between the inner panels 11 thereby reducing the heat transfer between the interior of the compartment 2 and the gasket portions 22 so that sweating thereof is substantially prevented. To this end, the projections 18 forming art of the mating edges of the doors 4 and 5 are shaped to provide opposed portions 31 rearwardly from the gasket portions 22 and adapted to cooperate to form a relatively narrow air gap 32 for minimizing circulation of cold air from the cabinet compartment interior into contact with the gaskets. More specifically, the inner panel 11 is shaped to provide an inner panel edge 33 which is substantially parallel to the flange 16 and a C-shaped curved section 34 extending around the gasket portion 22 and forming a recess substantially enclosing the gasket portion 22 whereby the gasket is contained in the recess 35 and is shielded by the opposed portions 31 forming the rear edge of the recess 35 from circulation of the cold air from Within the compartment 3 into contact with the gasket.

Since the projecting portions 31 substantially overlie the gasket sections 22, the gasket and the edge 33 of the inner panel 11 cannot be simultaneously secured by screws or the like to the outer panel 12 in the usual manner. Accordingly, there is provided special means along the mating edges 23 and 24 of the doors for securing the inner panel and gasket to the outer panel. To this end, there is employed a retainer 38 including a lip 39 for clamping the base portion 40 of the gasket to the flange 16 and a channel 41 for subsequently receiving the inner panel edge 33. In the assembly of the door, the retainer 38 and the gasket portion 22 are secured to the flange 16 by suitable screws 42.

Thereafter as shown in FIGURE 3 of the drawing, the tubular portion of the gasket is folded back and the edge 33 of the inner panel 11 is inserted into the channel 41 by cocking the inner panel at an angle relative to the outer panel. As the inner panel 11 is rotated into parallel relationship with the outer panel 12, the edge 33 slides into the recess 41 and is cammed into the channel and held in the final position by means of a projection 48 which forms part of the retainer and is designed to bear against the bottom or curved portion of the recess.

Thereafter, following the usual assembly practice, the gasket sections 21 extending along the upper and lower and hinge edges of the doors are secured along with the corresponding edges of the inner panel 11 to the flanges 16 by means of retainer strips 45 and screws 46.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of the present invention it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto and it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination, a cabinet having a face portion defining an access opening to the interior of said cabinet,

a pair of doors in side-by-side relationship for closing said access opening;

said doors being pivotally supported on said cabinet for pivotal movement about axis adjacent the outer vertical edges thereof, and having spaced inner vertical mating edges extending across said access opening, and

each of said doors comprising an outer panel having an inwardly turned flange extending around the periphery thereof, a sheet plastic inner panel having peripheral edges overlying said flange,

each of said inner panels having a projection extending from the inner edge thereof adjacent the mating edge of a door rearwardly into the cabinet interior when the door is closed,

said projection having a recessed section therein adjacent said edge of said panel, each of said doors including a tubular sealing gasket mounted on said flange and extending about the periphery of each door with the sections thereof adjacent said mating edges being substantially disposed in said recess, cooperating sealing means on said gasket sections for sealing the space between said mating door edges,

said projections including opposed portions rearwardly from said gasket sections providing a relatively nar row air gap to minimize circulation of cold air from said cabinet interior into contact with said sealing means,

means for securing a gasket section and an inner panel edge to said flange of each door comprising a retainer secured to said door flange and including a section anchoring said gasket base portion to said flange, a channel adapted to slidably receive said inner panel edge, and means inwardly from said retainer for engaging a portion of said recessed section to hold said inner panel edge in said channel.

2. In combination, a cabinet having a face portion defining an access opening to the interior of said cabinet,

a pair of doors in side-by-side relationship for closing said access opening,

said doors pivotally supported on said cabinet for pivotal movement about axis adjacent the outer vertical edges thereof and having spaced inner vertical mating edges extending across said access opening, and

each of said doors comprising an outer panel having an inwardly turned flange extending around the periphery thereof, a sheet plastic inner panel having peripheral edges overlying said flange,

each of said inner panels having a projection extending from the inner edge thereof adjacent the mating edge of a door rearwardly into the cabinet interior when the door is closed,

said projection having a recessed section therein adjacent said edge of said panel,

each of said doors including a sealing gasket including a base portion and a tubular portion substantially disposed in said recess, and cooperating sealing means for sealing the space between said mating door edges, the opposed portions of said projections rearwardly from said gasket portion providing a relatively narrow air gap to minimize circulation of cold air from said cabinet interior into contact with said gasket,

5 6 means for securing said gasket portion and inner panel References Cited by the Examiner edge to said flange comprising a retainer secured UNITED STATES PATENTS to said flange and including a section anchoring said gasket base portion to said flange, a channel adapted 3077644 2/1963 Keshng 20-69 to slidably receive said inner panel edge, and means 5 CLAUDE A LE ROY Primary Examiner mounted on said flange inwardly from said retainer for engaging a portion of said recessed section to hold CHANCELLOR HARRIS Exammersaid inner panel edge in said channel. F. DOMOTOR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION, A CABINET HAVING A FACE PORTION DEFINING AN ACCESS OPENING TO THE INTERIOR OF SAID CABINET, A PAIR OF DOORS IN SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATIONSHIP FOR CLOSING SAID ACCESS OPENING, SAID DOORS BEING PIVOTALLY SUPPORTED ON SAID CABINET FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT ABOUT AXIS ADJACNET THE OUTER VERTICAL EDGES THEREOF, AND HAVING SPACED INNER VERTICL MATING EDGES EXTENDING ACROSS SAID ACCESS OPENING, AND EACH OF SAID DOORS COMPRISING AN OUTER PANEL HAVING AN INWARDLY TURNED FLANGE EXTENDING AROUND THE PERIPHERY THEREOF, A SHEET PLASTIC INNER PANEL HAVING PERIPHEAL EDGES OVERLYING SAID FLANGE, EACH OF SAID INNER PANELS HAVING A PROJECTION EXTENDING FROM THE INNER EDGE THEREOF ADJACENT THE MATING EDGE OF A DOOR REARWARDLY INTO THE CABINET INTERIOR WHEN THE DOOR IS CLOSED, SAID PROJECTION HAVING A RECESSED SECTION THEREIN ADJACENT SAID EDGE OF SAID PANEL, 